Device for use in applying pressure to shoe bottoms



E. M. WAD'SWORTH 2,295,700

DEVICE FOR USE IN APPLYING PRESSURE TO SHOE BOTTOMS Filed Feb. 5, 1941Patented Sept. 15, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE DEVICE FOR USE INAPPLYING PRESSURE TO SHOE BOTTOMS Application February 5, 1941, SerialNo. 377,530

10 Claims.

This invention relates to devices for use in ap plying pressure to solesand shoes and more particularly to means for relatively positioningsoles and shoes prior to the application of pressure thereto, and it isillustrated herein as embodied in a pad box for cement attaching solesto shoe bottoms.

Many pad boxes for use in cement attaching soles to shoes are providedwith positioning means such as gages for locating the sole and shoerelatively to each other on the pad of the pad box before the soleattaching pressure is applied.

An important object of the present invention is to provide improvedgages of the type referred to which are particularly adapted for usewhen the sole and shoe are to be attached to each other by a pressureresponsive cement which causes adhesion immediately upon contact.

To this end the invention provides a gage for locating an end portion ofa sole on the pad, and another gage for locating the corresponding endportion of a shoe relatively to the sole. In accordance with a featureof the invention, means is provided for holding the end portion of theshoe out of engagement with the end portion of the sole after they havebeen positioned relatively to each other by the gages and until pressureis applied to the sole and shoe. As herein illustrated, the meansreferred to preferably comprises a thin fiat plate arranged to extendbetween the sole and shoe and thereby prevent them from sticking to eachother by reason of the cement on their attaching surfaces. This plate,as illustrated, is carried by the sole and shoe gages, preferably by theshoe gage, and it is so arranged that it will move into position overthe end portion of a sole on the pad without striking the sole.

In accordance with further features of the invention, the plate is sothin in cross section that the shoe may be located by the shoe gage insubstantially its final or attaching position relatively to the sole,and the plate is provided with polished surfaces which prevent the tackycement on the sole and shoe from causing these members to stick to theplate and which also prevent the plate from interfering with the cementas the plate is removed. Moreover, the arrangement is preferably suchthat the plate will be withdrawn from between the end portions of thesole and shoe upon the application of a part of the pressure to beapplied thereto, thereby per: mitting these end portions to becomefirmly attached to each other by the cement thereon under the full soleattaching pressure.

With the above and other objects and features in view, the inventionwill now be described in connection with the accompanying drawing andwill thereafter be pointed out in the claims.

In the drawing,

, Fig. 1 is a plan View of gages embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a section taken on the longitudinal median line of the gagesand including a portion of the sole receiving pad with the toe ends of asole and shoe indicated in broken lines;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the shoe and sole with the sole resting onthe pad and the shoe suspended above the sole in a manner which mightcause an error in relatively positioning the sole and shoe;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged view of the toe ends of the sole and shoeillustrating more clearly the error which might occur when the shoe issuspended above the sole;

Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the shoe and sole illustrating how theshoe may be positioned relatively to the sole with the aid of the gagesof the present invention; and

Fig. 6 is a View similar to Fig. 5 after pressure has been applied tothe sole and shoe and the gages have been withdrawn to inoperativeposition.

The sole and shoe locating gages of the present invention areillustrated as applied to a pad box for use in a cement sole attachingmachine of the type disclosed in United States Letters Patent No.2,047,185, granted July 14, 1986, upon an application filed in the nameof Milton I-I. Ballard et al. The sole and shoe gages per se, however,as herein illustrated, are of the type disclosed in Letters Patent ofthe United States No. 2,262,759, granted November 18, 1941, on theapplication of Sidney J. Finn.

As disclosed in the Finn patent, the sole and shoe locating gages at thetoe end of the pad box comprise a forked member 20 each arm of which hasa pair of downwardly projecting ears 22 (Fig. 2) to which a pair ofplates 24, 26 are pivoted by a pin 28 so that the free edges of theseplates rest by gravity against a pad cover 313 overlying a pad 3|contained in the pad box. The plates 24, 26 on the opposite arms of theforked member 20 have their free edges located substantially at rightangles to each other and constitute a V-gage which will engage andlocate the toe end of a sole on the pad when the plates or gages arebrought against the sole. The forked member 20 is carried by a slide 34arranged for movement relatively to the sole in the direction of thelongitudinal median line of its forepart and, in order that the plates24, 26, while resting upon the pad cover 30, may have a limited amountof upward movement in response to the distortion of the pad by pressureof the sole and shoe against it, the slide 34 has a depending projection35 (Fig. 2) which rests upon the cover 30 and limits downward movementof the slide and prevents contact of the plates 24, 26 with an overlyingshoe gage.

The shoe gage for locating the toe end of the shoe comprises a forkedmember II2 provided with two shoe engaging surfaces I I3 located at.approximately right angles to each other to form a V-gage. The surfaces3 have considerable heightwise extent in a direction perpendicular tothe surface of the pad 3| and these surfaces are substantially parallelto the inner or free edges of the sole gage plates 24, 26. Consequently,these surfaces H3 slant or incline toward the toe end of the pad fromtheir upper to their lower edges.

As disclosed in the Finn patent, the V-gage II2 for the shoe isadjustably connected by a screw I I 4 tea slide IIB mounted on the slide34 for longitudinal movement parallel thereto, the slide I I6 being heldon the slide 34' by a screw H8 passing through a slot in the slide H6and threaded into the slide 34, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Moreover, theshoe V-gage II 2 is arranged for adjustment laterally of the shoe andrelatively to the sole V-gage 24, 26 by means of a transverse groove andtongue arrangement (not shown) between the V-gage I I2 and the slide II6.

In the operation of these two gages, as disclosed in the Finn patent,the proper lateral and longitudinal adjustments are first made betweenthe sole V-gage 24, 26 and the shoe V-gage H2, and the gages are thencaused to move inwardly or rearwardly of the pad toward the toe end of asole thereon through the operation of mechanism provided on the cementsole attaching machine for that purpose, this movement continuing untilthe sole gage 24', 2t finds the toe end of the sole on the pad whereuponthe toe gages become locked against movement away from the sole so thatthe shoe V-gage I I2 is then in" position to locate the toe end of ashoe S, on a last L, in proper relation to the toe end of the sole 0.

The heel end of the sole, as disclosed in the Finn patent, is located onthe pad by a sole gage consisting of a tongue 226 carried by a pivotedmember (not shown) arranged to swing heightwise of the pad about atransverse axis so that the tongue can be swung into and out ofengagement with the pad, the tongue being normally forced downwardlyagainst the pad by a compression spring acting upon thepivoted member.The tongue 226 carries at its forward end a downwardly projecting pin236 ('Fig. 3) adapted to engage a hole formed in the sole centrally ofits heel portion. The tongue is swung upwardly from the pad by a leveror handle (not shown) and, through an arrangement of slides and othermechanisms fully disclosed in the Finn patent, the tongue may be movedforwardly into position to engage the hole in the sole and locate theheel end thereof laterally and longitudinally of the pad. Upon releaseof the handle the sole gage 22-6 becomes locked against movementrearwardly or away from the sole.

The heel end. of the shoe is located relatively to the sole by a V-gage248 having a square shank or stem 250 which is bored longitudinally, asshown in Fig. 5, to receive a compression spring 26!] which urges thegage yieldingly in a direction toward the shoe. The stem 250 is slottedat 254 to receive a transverse pin 256 about which the stem can pivotheightwise of the pad, the compression spring 260 bearing against thispin 256 and against a cotter pin at the front end of the gage. The stem259 is normally held in an upwardly tilted position by a leaf spring 264but the gage may be swung downwardly by the pressure or' friction of theshoe against it, as shown in Figs. 3, 5 and 6. Since the rear gages 226and 243 for relatively locating the heel ends of the sole and shoeform-no part of the present invention, a more detailed description ofthem will not be necessary herein.

In placing the shoe S in the shoe gage H2, 243

above the sole 0, which has been positioned on the pad by the sole gages24, 26 and 226, the heel end of the shoe is seated in the V-gage 248 andthe shoe and V-gage are moved rearwardly against the tension of thespring 260 until the toe end of the shoe can enter the shoe V-gage II2.As stated above, the inclined surfaces II3 of the gage II2 havesufiicient heightwise extent perpendicular to the surface of the pad andparallel to the edge faces of the sole gage 24, 26, so that the shoemay, if desired, be located by said surfaces in position to engage thesole while the forepart of the shoe is held out of contact with thesole, the shoe being suspended above the sole by the pressure of theV-gage 248 toward the V-gage I I2, as indicated somewhatdiagrammatically in Figs. 3' and 5.

suspending the shoe above the sole in this manner greatly facilitatesthe positioning operation, for example, when the sole is to be attachedto the shoe by a pressure responsive cement which sticks immediatelyupon contact, such, for example, as the polymerized chloroprene cementdisclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 2,061,296, grantedNovember 17, 1936, in the name of W. H. Wedger. However, while the aboveprocedure is advantageous in some kinds of work, particularly when it isdesired to bring the shank portion of the sole into ngagement with theshoe before any substantial pressure is applied by bulging the soleupwardly away from the pad, as disclosed in the Finn patent,nevertheless, in cases where the shank portions of the sole and shoe arenot to be brought together in such initial contact, care must be used inplacing the shoe in the shoe gages without letting it touch the sole atany point and this has the effect of slowing up the positioningoperation. Moreover, although the bulging of the shank portion of thesole in the manner indicated above insures the proper positioning of theshoe relatively to the sole because the initial contact of the membersat the shank portion precludes any error as the shoe and sole arebrought together throughout the rest of their attaching surfaces, it hasbeen found in practice,

nevertheless, that, in cases where the sole is not initially bulged atthe shank portion, an error is apt to occur in relatively positionin thesole and shoe if the shoe is suspended above the sole, unlessconsiderable care is used in applying the sole attaching pressure, whichis applied vertically, and also unless the forward pressure of the shoeV-gage 248 under the spring 236 is always sufficient to maintain the toeend of the shoe in engagement with the inclined surfaces I IS of theV-gage I I2 as the shoe descends under the action of the pressureapplying abutments of the cement sole attachin machine, these abutmentsbeing indicated in the drawings by the numerals 3I4 and 3I6 and beingarranged respectively to engage the last L and the forepart of the shoeS. In other words, the toe end of the shoe should remain in engagementwith the inclined surfaces I I3 as the shoe descends in order that thetoe end of the shoe be located accurately with respect to the toe end ofthe sole. Therefore, if the sole attaching pressure of the machine iapplied too rapidly in a vertical direction, or if the tension of thespring 260 becomes too weak to hold the shoe against the surfaces I I3,there is a possibility that the shoe will leave the surfaces H3 anddescend toward the sole in a more or less vertical direction with theresult that the toe end of the shoe (and therefore the entire shoe) willbe located too far rearwardly with respect to the outsole.

The error which might occur under such circumstances is illustrateddiagrammatically in Figs. 3 and 4, the broken line A representing thepath which the toe end of the shoe should follow as it descends in orderto be correctly positioned relatively to the sole, and the broken line Bindicating the path that the toe end of the shoe might follow if for anyreason the shoe does not remain in engagement with the inclined surfacesH3 of the V-gage H2. It will be seen from the figures referred to thatthe possible error at the toe ends of the sole and shoe might under someconditions be serious enough to spoil the shoe if it were suspended highenough above the sole when placing the shoe in the V-gages H2 and 248.

In order to eliminate all possibility of an error of this natureoccurring when relatively positioning the sole and shoe, and yet toretain the obvious advantages of holding the bottom of the shoe out ofengagement with the outsole until pressure is applied, particularly whena pressure responsive sole attaching cement is used that sticksimmediately upon contact, such as the polymerized chloroprene cementreferred to above, the present invention provides means for holding thetoe end of the shoe S out of engagement with the toe end of the soleuntil pressure is applied to the shoe and sole by the pressure applyingabutments 3I4, 3H5 of the cement sole attaching machine.

The means for accomplishing this purpose, as herein illustrated,comprises a substantially flat plate I of metal or other suitablematerial secured in any usual or convenient manner, as by brazing orwelding, to the bottom edge faces of the forked portions of the shoeV-gage H2 which provide the shoe engaging surfaces H3. The plate I20, asshown in Figs. 1 and 2, is extremely thin in cross section and spans thespace between the surfaces H3 for at least half their length, so that itcovers a substantial area between said forked portions. The plate I20,moreover, is provided with polished surfaces which render itsubstantially immune to the adhesive action of the pressure responsivecement.

In operation, the sole and shoe gages at the toe end of the pad aremoved inwardly as usual into engagement with the outsole O on the pad,the outsole having pressure responsive cement applied to the marginalportion of its attaching surface. The plate I20, being carried by theshoe V-gage H2, is located high enough above the surface of the pad topass over the outsole without touching it as the sole V-gage 24, 26finds the toe end of the outsole. After the sole is located on the padand is engaged by the V-gage 24, 25, the shoe S, also having pressureresponsive cement on its lower or attaching surface, is presented to theshoe gages as described above, that is, the heel portion of the shoe isplaced by the operator in the shoe V-gage 248 and the shoe and V-gageare moved rearwardly against the pressure exerted by the compressionspring 260 until the toe end of the shoe can be lowered into the shoeV-gage H2. However, the operator need not be careful during thisoperation not to lower the toe end of the shoe too far in the shoeV-gage H2 so that it will engage the toe end of the sole, but he maylower it at once until it engages the plate I20, which now extendsbetween the shoe and sole, as shown in Fig. 5. In this way heimmediately insures that the toe end of the shoeS will be locatedproperly with respect to the toe end of the outsole because these endportions will now be located substantially in their final or attachingpositions with only the thin plate I20 extending between them. The plateI20, of course, prevents the toe end of the shoe from sticking to thetoe end of the outsole because it extends between these portions andcovers the pressure responsive cement on their attaching surfaces.However, since the plate is provided with polished surfaces, it does notadhere to or otherwise interfere with the cement on these surfaces.

The heel end of the shoe may now be swung downwardly about a pivotformed by the toe end of the shoe located in the shoe gage H2 to bringthe entire shoe bottom into engagement with the sole except for theportions between which the plate I20 extends. Alternatively, the heelend of the shoe may, if desired, be held by the shoe V-gage 248 awayfrom the sole until pressure is applied, as shown in Fig. 5, therebypermitting the shoe to be suspended above the outsole except for theportion engaging the plate I20, which, of course, cannot become attachedto the outsole until the plate I20 is removed.

Before the full sole attaching pressure is applied, it is necessary toremove the plate I20 from between the shoe and sole in order that theirtoe portions may become cement attached to each other. This may beaccomplished by automatically withdrawing the sole and shoe gages at thetoe end of the pad to their inoperative positions by gage retractingmechanism, for example, of the type disclosed in Letters Patent of theUnited States No. 2,117,396 granted May 17, 1938, on the application ofSidney J. Finn. As illustrated in the patent last referred to, this gageretracting mechanism is fluid pressure controlled and is connected withthe same source of fluid pressure supply as the power operated mechanismfor operating the pressure applying abutments of the sole attachingmachine. Accordingly, when the pressure against the sole and the shoereaches a predetermined amount, preferably only enough to clamp the soleand shoe on the pad and thereby insure against their relativedisplacement, the gage retracting mechanism operates automatically towithdraw the toe gages 24, 2B and H2 and the plate I20 to theirinoperative or retracted positions relatively to the pad. Since thepressure against the sole and shoe is relatively light at this time, theplate I20 can be readily withdrawn from between the toe ends of the soleand shoe. Moreover, as stated above, since the surfaces of the plate arepolished they do not interfere with the cement on the attaching surfacesof the sole and shoe and, accordingly, when the full pressure isapplied, the toe ends of the sole and shoe will become just as firmlyattached to each other as the other portions of the sole and shoe.

By the use of the present invention, therefore, all possibility of anerror occurring when locating the shoe and sole relatively to each otheron the pad of the sole attaching machine will be eliminated and, inaddition, the act of presenting the shoe to the shoe gages will begreatly facilitated in that it can be performed with less care on thepart of the operator and much faster than heretoi ore.

Having described my invention, what, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A pad box for use in applying pressure to shoe bottoms having, incombination, a sole receiving pad, a gage for locating an end portion ofa sole on the pad, another gage for positioning the corresponding endportion of a shoe relatively to the sole, and means arranged to engagethe shoe and sole and to hold the end portion of the shoe out ofengagement with the sole before pressure is applied to the sole and shoebut to permit said engagement when pressure is applied.

2. A pad box for use in applying pressure to shoe bottoms having, incombination, a pad for receiving a sole and shoe having adhesive ontheir attaching surfaces, gages for positioning the sole and shoerelatively to each other on the pad, and means for holding the shoe outof engagement with the sole until pressure is applied to the sole andshoe, thereby preventing the sole and shoe from sticking to each otherbefore they have been properly positioned, said means being movable topermit the shoe to come into engagement with the sole after pressure isapplied to the sole and shoe.

3. A pad box for use in applying pressure to shoe bottoms having, incombination, a sole receiving pad, a V-gage for positioning the toe endof a sole on the pad, a second V-gage for positioning the toe end of ashoe relatively to the sole, and means arranged to extend between thesole and shoe for holding the shoe out of engagement with the sole untilafter they have been positioned, said means being also arranged to moveout from between the sole and shoe when pressure is applied to said soleand shoe.

4. A pad box for use in applying pressure to shoe bottoms having, incombination, a sole receiving pad, a gage for locating an end portion ofa sole on the pad, 2. gage for locating the corresponding end portion ofa shoe relatively to the sole, a plate arranged to extend between thesole and shoe for holding said end portion of the shoe out of engagementwith the sole until pressure is applied to the sole and shoe, and meansfor withdrawing said plate from between the sole and shoe upon theapplication of said pressure.

5. A pad box for use in applying pressure to shoe bottoms having, incombination, a sole receiving pad, gages for relatively positioning thetoe ends of a sole and shoe on the pad, said gages being movable intoand out of operative position, and means carried by said gages forholding the shoe out of engagement with the sole until pressure isapplied to the sole and shoe, said means moving out of operativeposition with the gages upon the application of said pressure.

6. A pad box for use in applying pressure to shoe bottoms having, incombination, a pad for receiving a sole and shoe having pressureresponsive cement on their attaching surfaces, a V-gage for locating thetoe end of the sole on the pad, a second V-gage for locating thetoe endof the shoe relatively to the sole, said gages being movablelongitudinally of the pad into operative position and being retractableinto inoperative position upon the application of pressure to the soleand shoe, and means carried by said gages and movable into and out ofoperative position therewith for holding the toe end of the shoe out ofengagement with the corresponding end of the sole until pressure isapplied to the sole and shoe.

7. A pad box for use in applying pressure to shoe bottoms having, incombination, a pad for receiving a sole and shoe having pressureresponsive cement on their attaching surfaces, a V-gage for locating oneend of the sole on the pad, a second V-gage for locating thecorresponding end of the shoe relatively to the sole, said second V-gage having a considerable heightwise extent perpendicular to thesurface of the pad, and means carried by said second V-gage for holdingthe end of the shoe out f engagement with the sole until pressure isapplied thereto, thereby preventing the sole and shoe from stickingtogether before they have been properly positioned by the gages, saidmeans being arranged to be withdrawn to inoperative position upon theapplication of pressure to the sole and shoe.

8. A pad box for use in applying pressure to shoe bottoms having, incombination, a pad for receiving a sole and shoe having pressureresponsive cement on their attaching surfaces, a gage for finding oneend of the sole after it has been placed on the pad, a second gage forpositioning the corresponding end portion of the shoe relatively to thesole, and a thin plate extending between the sole and shoe forpermitting said end portion of the shoe to be placed in substantiallyits final position relatively to the end of the sole without becomingstuck to the sole by the cement on said attaching surfaces, said platebeing arranged to remain between the sole and shoe only until pressureis applied thereto.

9. A pad box for use in applying pressure to shoe bottoms having, incombination, a pad for receiving a sole and sho having pressureresponsive cement on their attaching surfaces, a V-gage for locating thetoe end of the sole on the pad, a second V-gage for locating the toe endof the shoe above the sole and in position to be pressed downwardlythereagainst, said second gage having considerable heightwise extentperpendicular to the surface of the pad, and a plate arranged to extendbetween the sole and shoe and hold the toe end of the shoe out ofengagement with the sole until pressure is applied, said plate being sothin that the toe end of the shoe may be placed in substantially itsfinal position above the sole without danger of sticking thereto, saidplate also having polished surfaces thereon which prevent the cement onthe sole and shoe from sticking to the plate.

10. A pad box for use in applying pressure to shoe bottoms having, incombination, a pad for receiving a sole and shoe having tacky cement ontheir attaching surfaces, a V-gage for locating the toe end of the soleon the pad, 2. second V- gage for locating the toe end of the shoe abovethe sole, said second V-gage having a considerable heightwise extentperpendicular to the surface of the pad, and a plate carried by saidsecond V-gage at the bottom thereof for engaging the toe end of the shoeas it is placed in the gage and holding said toe end out of engagementwith the sole until pressure is applied, thereby preventing the toe endof the shoe from sticking to the sole before they have been properlypositioned relatively to each other, said plate being so arranged thatthe toe end of the shoe may be placed in substantially its finalposition relatively to the sole and being also arranged to be withdrawnfrom between the sole and shoe upon the application of pressure theretowithout interfering with the cement on said sole and shoe.

ELIOT M. WADSWORTH.

